My mind began to wander; that remote possibility echoed in my head...

Was she... waiting for me?

I tried to shake that thought from my mind, but to no avail.

“Sora, you’re finally out.”

She smiled at me, trying to hide her concern.

She stepped closer and reached out to touch my head. 

“Shiori told me what you did…”

I stood still; her hand felt soft. 

“Are you okay? Does your head still hurt?”

She asked me.

“Don’t worry…”

I tried to reassure her. 

“It doesn’t hurt that much anymore…”

She waited for me because she was worried…

I kept talking to her, but the truth is I had too many thoughts running through my head—I don’t remember what else I said to her.

“If you’d like… I can walk you home.”

She suggested, catching me off guard.

“Wait, are you sure? Do you live nearby?”

“Don’t worry, I have a photo shoot in town, so it’s no problem.”

I hesitated. 

Earlier, I didn’t even know if I should ask her to grab a bite to eat… Do I have the right to accept her offer?

Maybe it was too soon; even now, I don’t know what I should have done, but…

I want to talk to her a little longer.

“Okay, let’s walk part of the way together.”

I smiled at her, without even realizing it.

Together with the most popular girl in my class… I walked home. 

“So, Sora… What do you do in your free time?”

she asked, blushing slightly. 

“In my free time?”

“Yeah.”

She confirmed. 

“Well, I help my mom with the housework…”

Or rather, I tried to, but I made more of a mess than anything else. 

“I also like going out and hanging around.”

She seemed interested in what I was telling her.

“You should add: running over girls on my bike.”

She teased me, giggling. 

“You’re putting it that way!”

I tried to stay serious, but her joke actually had some truth to it.

“What about you? What do you do in your free time?”

She seemed to appreciate my curiosity. 

“I really love shopping, eating, sports, going out...”

She launched into a list of activities. 

I hid my face in my hands. 

Damn! Why is she so cute!

I thought.

“Listen… Sora.”

Her tone changed. 

“This Friday…”

She touched her hair; her eyes fixed on me, making me feel intimidated.

“I have some shopping to do…”

“Would you like to come with me?”

My head was spinning. 

Is she asking me out on a date?!

I don’t know if I’ll die from this headache or from my heart racing!

“Yes!”

I raised my voice without meaning to.

“I mean… I don’t have any plans for that day.”

“Great!”

She raised her voice, too. 

“We’ve been classmates for a long time, but we still haven’t exchanged numbers…”

She continued.

“Would you be up for it? That way we can set it up for Friday.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. 

“I’d really love to.”

I told her.

And that’s how I got her number. 

We kept chatting the whole way to my place. 

“We’re here.”

I pointed it out to her. 

“You have a nice place; it looks cozy.”

She smiled.

“Yeah…”

A sudden silence fell between us. I don’t know about her, but I didn’t know what to do.

I’d like to talk to her a little longer…

“Sora”

She called out to me, catching my attention again.

“Maybe… I could text you tonight to see how you’re doing.”

My eyes widened, and a smile spread across my face.

“Okay, let’s text later.”

“F-fantastic, then it’s settled.”

Akari’s cheeks looked even redder to me.

Shortly after, we said goodbye; for some reason, my heart was pounding.

I went inside. 

That feeling in my chest soon gave way to fear. 

Damn it, how am I going to explain to my mom how I got this?

I touched the sore spot on my face.

I was trembling just at the thought of what she might say. 

I made my way to the kitchen, step by step. 

“H-hi, Mom.”

“Welcome home—”

She looked at me. 

“Sora! What did you do?!”

She rushed over to check on me. 

“It’s nothing...”

She kept touching my head. 

“Don’t say that—your face is swollen.”

I didn’t feel like lying to her; a lie would only worry her even more. 

“Calm down now, I’ll tell you everything.”

So I did. 

I expected her to scold me, but instead…

“I’m proud of you, Sora.”

She looked at me gently. 

“Are you serious? No scolding?”

“You were foolish, but you did it to help someone…”

She searched for the right words.

“I’ve been pretty busy lately, but I’m happy with the person you’re becoming.”

That sentence struck me. 

“T-thank you.”

“Come on, let’s eat now.”

She went to get the plates. 

“Yeah, I’m starving...”

I spent the rest of the day with my mom, and when evening came, I was waiting for just one thing...

I’ve been waiting for ten minutes!

I was sprawled on the bed with my phone in my hand. 

How much longer until she texts?!

I was starting to lose hope, but finally, she messaged me. 

“There she is!”

“Hi, Sora, how’s it going now? I just finished work.”

She wrote. 

“You’ve been working until this late? Being a model must be tough.”

“Well, it has its perks, too.”

“Give me an example.”

“Like finding out who buys your magazines.”

She sent a laughing emoji. 

How silly.

We kept texting until she got home. 

I set my phone on the nightstand, ready to sleep. 

“I’ll have to talk to Shiori tomorrow...”

I fell asleep shortly after.